New Exeter Chiefs signing Santiago Cordero will have an early chance to show Exeter Chiefs fans what he can do after being included in the starting XV to face Saracens in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

The Argentina international back, who joined the club earlier this week, will make his debut in the Sandy Park encounter tomorrow.

Exeter fans will also be able to see Ollie Devoto make a return. The 24-year-old centre has been restricted to just three appearances this season due to long-term shoulder and ankle problems, but he will have a chance to prove his form and fitness as the Chiefs aim to make a fourth straight Anglo-Welsh Cup final.

“Our new signing, Cordero, will get his first run-out for us on Saturday, so it will be good to see him in action,” said Ricky Pellow, Exeter’s skills coach, who takes charge of Anglo-Welsh Cup games.

“Ollie Devoto couldn’t play on the astro last week against Worcester, so he’ll come back into midfield too. Greg Holmes will play too, so we’ve strengthened the squad for the weekend. We’ve got a sprinkling of senior players coming back in.”

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Unfortunately for the Chiefs, their efforts tomorrow may be in vain, depending on results elsewhere. Harlequins are five points ahead of Exeter in Pool Five, meaning as little as a point in their trip to Northampton tonight will be enough to make the semi-finals and eliminate Pellow’s men from the competition.

Still, all the Devon side can do is focus on beating Saracens – something Pellow remains optimistic about, given the quality of their training in the last few days. “We’re disappointed that it isn’t in our hands, so we’re going into the last game knowing a win might not be enough,” the coach said.

“With Harlequins playing on Friday, it’s out of our hands but we know that, if they lose, we have to get a five-point win, and we’ve talked about how to go about doing that.

“We’ve been training very, very well in the last few days and the players have really been on point in terms of where we can attack Saracens. If Quins don’t get a result on Friday, we know exactly what we need to do and how to go about it.”

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Exeter head into the game having gone down 31-21 to Worcester Warriors in the same competition last time out. That loss saw a youthful Chiefs side race into a 14-0 lead, only for a strong home line-up to battle back and ultimately claim victory.

The defeat could well prove to have been a mortal blow to Exeter’s hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals, but Pellow said that disappointment was mixed with satisfaction at the display after the final whistle.

“It was a weird changing room after the final whistle,” Pellow explained. “The players were obviously down and knew they had let an opportunity slip by.

“Obviously it was disappointing. We were right in it until the last ten minutes, so we’ve talked about maintaining our discipline and just doing what we normally do this week.

“I think they were more frustrated that we gave them their points with ill-discipline and a few errors. That game was in our hands to take away from Worcester, and that was pleasing,” he added.